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OPINION: It was only in 2018 that the Chinese Government embarked on a mission to lift domestic milk production and stop billions of dollars from leaving the country and into the hands of exporters like New Zealand.
It paid off. Chinese net total dairy product import volumes fell 15.7% year on year in 2023, with imports of whole milk powder - a major New Zealand export product - down 395.
However, six years later over-leveraged Chinese farmers are dumping milk and culling cows because it’s no longer financially viable to be a dairy farmer.
Demand for milk has fallen in China because of a slowing birth rate and a broader pullback in consumer spending, a hallmark of China’s struggle to recover its economy.
Now, the Government is rolling out stimulus packages to help dairy farmers.
A drop in China’s milk production may be good news for NZ exporters. China’s pain could be NZ’s gain.
One of the most galling aspects of the tariffs whacked on our farm exports to the US is the fact that, now more than ever, US farmers are being propped up by government welfare – a direct result of Trump’s hardline on its trading partners.
China looks set to play a key role in helping the New Zealand wool sector shift away from trading as a commodity supplier.
If you find a new consumer in a developed wine market, you are taking them from someone else, says Blank Canvas co-founder Sophie Parker-Thomson MW.
The large 2025 harvest will exacerbate the wine industry's "lingering" supply from recent vintages, New Zealand Winegrowers Chief Executive Philip Gregan told attendees at Grape Days events around the country in June.
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Acclaimed fruit grower Dean Astill never imagined he would have achieved so much in the years since being named the first Young Horticulturist of the Year, 20 years ago.
The Ashburton-based Carrfields Group continues to show commitment to future growth and in the agricultural sector with its latest investment, the recently acquired 'Spring Farm' adjacent to State Highway 1, Winslow, just south of Ashburton.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has blasted Fonterra farmers shareholders for approving the sale of iconic brands to a French company.
A major feature of the Ashburton A&P Show, to be held on October 31 and November 1, will be the annual trans-Tasman Sheep Dog Trial test match, with the best heading dogs from both sides of the Tasman going head-to-head in two teams of four.
Fewer bobby calves are heading to the works this season, as more dairy farmers recognise the value of rearing calves for beef.
The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.
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